Jail, cane for man who suffocated girlfriend after taking drugs.

It ended with him sitting on his girlfriend's chest and smothering her with a blanket in the early hours of Nov 20, 2014.

Yesterday, Jackson Lim Hou Peng, 41, an odd-job labourer, was jailed for 9½ years and ordered to be given three strokes of the cane for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, as well as drug consumption.

The couple were in his Ang Mo Kio two-room rental flat when the incident happened.

Court papers said Lim, who is married to another woman, was in a relationship with Ms Tran Cam Ny, 32, a Vietnamese national.

In mitigation, Lim's lawyer, Ms Jennifer Lim, told the court that the offence was not premeditated and the couple were in a loving relationship.

In a bid to quieten Ms Tran, Lim pinned her to the floor, repeatedly hit her face and smothered her with a blanket.

He stopped after noticing that she was bleeding from the mouth.

After that, Ms Tran, 32, became motionless and was later pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene.

Court papers said that on Nov 20, 2014, Ms Tran was staying over at Lim's Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10 Housing Board flat and invited her friend, Ms Vu Thi Thanh Thao, who asked another woman over for company.

Ms Vu and her friend arrived at the flat after 2am, and the three women chatted in the bedroom while Lim smoked methamphetamine, or "Ice", in the living room.

Ms Than would occasionally join him to smoke the drug before the four retired to the bedroom to sleep.

Shortly after, Ms Tran began to cry and argue with Lim, claiming he gave her money away to other women.

Seeing that she would not stop crying, he went to the living room to smoke more drugs.

Ms Tran joined him and began quarrelling again, before the duo exchanged blows.

The friends stopped the fight and pulled Ms Tran into the bedroom.

HYSTERICAL

Lim went back into the bedroom to deal with Ms Tran, who had become hysterical and was shouting.

It was about 8.15am when Ms Vu and her friend decided to leave the apartment out of fear.

After that, Ms Tran began assaulting Lim, who pinned her down and sat on her chest, straddling her.

He then hit her repeatedly across the face before pressing a blanket on her face.

Ms Tran eventually became motionless.

After trying to call his friend and father for help, Lim eventually called the Singapore Civil Defence Force and followed an officer's instructions to perform cardio-pulmonary resuscitation on Ms Tran.

Paramedics pronounced her dead at 12.32pm, and Lim, who suffered abrasions on his face, neck and back, was arrested that day.

He later tested positive for drugs.

Yesterday, Justice Tay Yong Kwang said in his sentencing remarks that this was a case of illegal drugs leading to sad and fatal consequences.

Justice Tay told Lim, who has a history of drug offences dating back to 2001, that he hoped this was the last time he would take drugs.

One other charge of possessing utensils used for consuming drugs was taken into consideration for sentencing.

DEFENCE LAWYER: HE AGREED TO MARRY VICTIM

It was a love story gone wrong, said defence lawyer Jennifer Lim in mitigation yesterday.

Ms Lim said her client, Jackson Lim Hou Peng, 41, had been living with his girlfriend, Ms Tran Cam Ny, 32, a Vietnamese national, at his Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10 rental flat for more than a year.

She said they were in a loving relationship.

Lim, whose estranged wife left him to live in Vietnam, even took Ms Tran to meet his father half a year before the incident, said Ms Lim.

On the morning of Nov 20, 2014, Ms Lim said Ms Tran had asked the accused to marry her and he agreed.

Ms Lim also said her client lost his father, who divorced his mother when he was young, to colon cancer in October last year.

She added that Lim was genuinely remorseful and cooperated with the police.